The present invention relates to improvements in electronic fruit grading machines and more specifically in such machines for grading olives, according to the quality thereof.
This type of olive grading machine detects surface marks or defects, so that, coupled to a suitable mechanical system, it replaces with outstanding advantages present-day methods of manual grading.
Presently there are industrial systems for grading objects by using standardized and specific television cameras, such systems constituting the basis for the improvements of the present invention.
The process is carried out by an electronic system including an optoelectronic transducer, so that the grading of olives in determined groups is achieved by corresponding electric signals generated by the transducer. The system can operate with a television camera provided with a silicon multidiode acting as the transducer.
From the electric signals coming from the camera, the system carries out the following functions:
(a) Locating a particular olive under observation. PA1 (b) Extracting necessary information regarding each olive found in the preceding process. PA1 (c) Assigning, according to external controls, to each olive analyzed in the preceding process a determined class or quality. PA1 (d) Generating electric signals capable of acting on a suitable electromechanical grading system.
Presently, grading of olives by their surface defects, normally corresponding to small or large-sized marks produced before or after fermentation, is carried out manually. This requires a large amount of hand labor, with the disadvantages inherent to any type of visual grading wherein fatigue and the subjectivity of the personnel involved in such work intervene very directly.